On 22nd March 2014, Kevin Courtney posted the following message up on Facebook.

"On Wednesday, my children will be off school because of striking teachers, which is a pain in the backside.

"Despite that, I'm fully behind the action by staff who are overworked, under-appreciated and under attack.

"Teachers work a 60-hour week, trying to steer pupils through constant exam and curriculum changes and increased bureaucracy while dealing with the unthinkable fact that the Department of Education seems to despise them.

"Morale is at an all-time low. For this they've been told to be grateful that their pay has been frozen; that they're to be put, like naughty kids, on performance-related salaries and that they'll have to work until 68 to gain a full pension.

"All this while 40% of teachers quit in the first five years. And teacher suicide rates have risen by 80%.

"That's why I'm awarding a gold star to Wednesday's strike."

It has been shared by almost 5,000 people - and it's easy to see why it has struck a chord with so many.

Rather than focusing on the inconvenience the strike has caused for parents, the piece brings some stark facts to light.

Such as the fact that most teachers work a 60-hour week (almost double the hours of most), planning lessons in their free time, marking workbooks after hours and meeting with parents after-hours.And, yes, there has been a significant rise in teacher suicides.

John Illingworth, former president of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and campaigner for mental health in teachers, told Channel 4 News that the growing trend of older teachers committing suicide could be linked to another trend of younger teachers walking away from the job when they begin to find their workloads unmanageable.

"We're seeing that the school's reaction is to try and get rid of them. When that happens, teachers who have been teaching for, say, 30 years, are profoundly more depressed, like they are bereaved.

"These days, younger teachers may just walk away from the job when they start feeling that the stress is too much, and that is another - separate - major issue.

"Although you cannot say that every teacher who commits suicide does so because of the stresses of the job, we have found that it is often one of the main aggravating factors."

In April, NUT representatives claimed that teachers were being driven to the point of suicide, alcoholism and weight disorders by the stresses of the job.

![Gove away #M26 #NUTstrike on Twitpic]

Sue McMahon, branch secretary for Calderdale, West Yorkshire, told the union's national conference: "I have seen a meteoric rise in work-related stress and in more than one occasion have had to support a member who has attempted suicide."

One primary teacher from Hull, Emma Ann Hardy, explained why she has felt the need to strike today, saying: "Constant government change means teachers' workload is crippling and teachers are leaving."

"No parent wants their child's education disrupted by teachers leaving part way through the year to be replaced by a series of supply or unqualified teachers.

"I honestly do not know what else I can do. I love my job. I love teaching. I do not love what is happening to my beloved profession."

Do you support the teachers strike? Why / why not? Let us know in the Comments Box.